There’s no question but that were Jefferson Smith, hero (or at least protagonist) of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, actually to find himself in the Senate, it would be a travesty and a tragedy for the country and the nation all at once. (On the other hand, were his secretary, Jean Arthur, to become...

Personally, I thought President Bush made the best out of a challenging situation last night by explaining the progress that has been made in Iraq in the face of resistance from insurgents and terrorists, the importance of staying until the job is finished, and the reason why setting a fixed deadline...

Read Richard Clements’ response to my earlier unification piece in the Evansville Courier & Press.

Meanwhile, in China: A BLOODY clash this month between peasants and hundreds of armed thugs sent by developers to seize their land has thrown a harsh light on one of the most controversial questions posed by China’s economic development. Who owns the farmland, and what rights do peasants have if...

Radley Balko has highlighted one of the most useful Firefox extensions yet. To quote: The BugMeNot Firefox extension. Download it, install it, then right click on the password field of any major newspaper site that asks for registration. Choose the “BugMeNot” option. It automatically searches...

I usually don’t give in to the temptations of pop news, but the news coverage that Dennis Rader, the so-called “BTK Killer,” has been receiving is despicable and worth commenting on. Allowing him to describe his killings on live TV must be giving him a thrill that he hasn’t had...

On Monday the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of large media companies and producers that brought a copyright suit against two peer-to-peer (P2p) file sharing companies. Most media reports have trumpeted MGM Studios v. Grokster as a big victory for the entertainment industry, but these reports...

In the most ingenious response to Kelo vs. City of New London yet, developer Logan Darrow Clements is seeking to condemn Justice Souter’s home so that Clements can begin constructing “The Lost Liberty Hotel” which will feature the “Just Desserts Cafe” and include a museum,...

Reason notes how the Chinese celebrated a UN anti-drug holiday: by executing 24 drug traffickers.

In his first post on the SCOTUSblog’s Ten Commandments mini-blog, Marty Lederman suggests that the Ten Commandments cases are of dubious importance and perhaps even damage the cause of separation. I think the arguments are plausible. First, quoting Ann Althouse: “I think it’s very...